


The Family That Stuck Together

by thePerfectNuclearFamily



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Adoption, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apparently I like the suffering of others :3, Foster Care, Foster parents au, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Gwom - Freeform, I dunno how to write romantical scenes, I'll add along the way, Max cries, Maybe gwenvid, Mom!Gwen, Multi, Other, We learn about Max's parents in chapter 4, bagged milk, canadian david, cuz i love him, dadvid, gwenvid - Freeform, or romantically involved, theperfectnuclearfamily, they might be plantonic shippable characters, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2018-12-31 12:04:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12132102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thePerfectNuclearFamily/pseuds/thePerfectNuclearFamily
Summary: After Campbell was arrested David and Gwen continued camp activities but as the end of summer approaches, Camp Campbell will be shut down for careful investigation by the FBI. However, a few days before the end of camp, David discovered some startling marks on a jaded ten year old's body that forces him to call Child Protective Services.Max isn't coming quietly however.-FAMILY AND FRIENDSHIP FIC CUZ I CRAVE THIS SHIT





	1. Chapter 1

  
"Ok campers, I hope you learned an important lesson here today!" David exclaimed, the tips of his red hair singed and his neck had dark lines of sweat and ash.

"Yeah, don't give Nikki fucking fire!" Neil yelled, still incredibly annoyed at today's events. It was archery camp and it's seemed that our local Tarzan child had a talent for it. David, excited to mold the youth, gave her extra attention. Trying to see how far her talent can go but once Nikki threw her first flaming arrow she was mad with power. Going as far as to glue an apple on Neil's head and chase him around with her archery set.

She wanted to prove that she could hit a moving target but it was harder than she thought. As indicated by how much of the camp was covered in ash and decaying arrows. Luckily the damage was mostly cosmetic thanks to Gwen's quick wit. She ~~screamed~~ _instructed_ the campers to get buckets of dirt and sand and throw it at the flames while David subdued Nikki. The quartermaster mainly sat in the middle of the chaos, drinking something toxic from his flask as he sharpened his hook.

Luckily everyone involved survived. Neil, especially relieved, only suffered damages from glue and apple guts in his hair. It was Gwen's turn to get food out of a camper's hair this time. She was perched on a mess hall table as he sat on the bench with his back facing her. She picked notable chunks out and smothered kitchen grease into his hair to dislodge the glue. The rest of the campers were rebuilding their respective camp supplies, supervised by the Quartermaster. Preston especially wailing about the torment his stage curtains suffered in the crusade.

"Come on guys, we all had a great time!" Nikki smiled. "Look! I got part of the apple!"

She pulled out some mush from her pocket and presented it proudly. Max rolled his eyes.

"This is all David's fault. Who else would thinks it's a bright idea to give kids fire and arrows when this place doesn't even have fire extinguishers? I'm surprised this shit hole is still standing to be honest."

"Hey.....Language." David frowned.

"Suck a d-"

"Oooookay, unless anyone here wants to help me rub stove grease into this nerd's hair," Gwen interrupted. "Go do something useful."

"I need to bathe in hand sanitizer after this." Neil shivered as he felt the questionably crusty lard melt into his scalp.

"Hand sanitizer doesn't kill _all_ germs Neil," Max smirked. "It's all a lie, just like how mouthwash is nothing but '50s floor cleaner. You're just as dirty as the rest of us."

"Bullshit!"

"Now Max, it's not nice to unravel people's sense of security and- wait." David paused and sniffed the air above Max before covering his nose. "Ugh. Max when was the last time you bathed?"

"I dunno, May?"

"May? Jesus Max, you haven't showered all summer?" Gwen winced in disgust.

"The showers in this place is shit!" Max remarked. "I'm not gonna strip in this godforsaken hell hole! Also, I think our venomous mascot lives there half the time."

"That smell was you!?" Neil inched away. "I've always thought that was Nikki!"

"Hey, I like how Max smells!" Nikki chirped. "He reminds me of a cow farm!"

"Hey!"

"Ok, ok," Gwen sighed. "Max, go take a shower for Fuck sake. The platypus is with space kid right now."

Everyone looked out the window to see their mascot trying to devour space kid's head while he was blissfully unaware of danger. Innocently piling dirt and ash together.

"He'll be fine... he has his helmet on!" Nikki waved away what little concern she had.

"Yeah well, I'm not taking a shower." Max mumbles.

"What?" Gwen's eye was twitching.

"You heard me. This stench is a documented record of all the shit that went down here!" Max pointed his accusingly at her. "Like the faint smell of motor oil when you allowed three kids to hot wire and drive a bus! Which. _We_. _Crashed_! WE COULD HAVE DIED!"

"Now Max," David moved in. "That was one of your escape attempts. Me and Gwen tried VERY hard to stop you-"

"And hey, look at this kool-aid stain on my sleeve! Remember that time you let a cult leader into the camp and how he nearly killed all of us! I bet the authorities can find traces of rat poison from this!"

"Preach Max!" Nikki cheered.

"And look, I'm covered in ash and shit! Pretty sure now with Campbell gone, if the authorities find out what went on today, this shit show will be shut down and you'll be unemployed!" Max smirked. "Face it, your leverage is gone, this is checkmate for you guys!"

"Now, Max-"

"Um guys..." Neil beckon their attention towards him and pointed up at Gwen. She had her fingers balled into a vipers grip in Neil's hair. Her lips were pressed tightly together and her face darken in complexion by the red hue of her anger.

" **Max**!"

Oh shit.

\---

"Hey, does something feel weird to you guys?" Nerris the cute asked her surrounding peers from the top of her newly built defense castle. Which was made of far studier cardboard this time.

"Jes, I ze whach you mean." Dolf looked around. "Itz too quiet-"

"COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Gwen screamed. She had a crazy look in her eyes as she chased Max around with an exceptionally long hose.

"The fuck Gwen! Leave me alone!" Max yelled as he abandon his wet shoes and threw them at her. One shoe smacked her straight in the face but it didn't slow her rampage so Max was forced to keep running.

"SPRAY ME TOO GWEN!" Nikki laughed. She tried to get in the way of the water but Gwen kept aiming at Max.

"Gwen I REALLY don't think hosing a camper is appropriate!" David warned apprehensively as he also followed the chaos.

"You bastards! Don't leave me like this!" Neil chased after the only semi responsible adults within 5 miles miles of Lake Lilac. With ever step he took, he could just  _feel_ the stove grease seep further into his hair follicles.

"Ah, much better." Dolf relaxed. Everyone nodded in agreement because camp Campbell wasn't camp without someone screaming or cursing every five minutes.

"I wanna play with the hose too!" Space kid got up and accidentally tripped over Max's shoes. The momentum through the platypus off his helmet.

"Muak." No animals were harmed in the making of this chapter.

\---

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Max yelled from inside the only shower cabin in camp Campbell, which he had to share with Neil at this moment. They're both still fully clothed and angry. He hit the door repeatedly and wiggled the knob.

"Now Max, this is for your own good." David said. He was on the other side securing the door from opening. Gwen instructed him to stand guard in case Max tried to make a run for it again.

"God this is humiliating." Neil mumbled with his arms crossed. He was nearly set on fire and implied by arrows, had to endure lard being messaged into his scalp and now forced to shower with another person (a grave violation of dignity and privacy) or else he had to wait outside in the summer sun until the shower was free and had lukewarm water again. Overall this has been one shitty day.

"Now boys, everything will be just fine as long as you keep your hands to yourselves and-"

"Shut the fuck up David, I get it!" Max was seething and directed his glare to Neil. "This is my side and that's yours; we both stare at the fucking walls and don't turn around. And after we get this over with, we forget this ever happened!"

"Agreed."

"Throw your dirty clothes through the window, I found some spare Campbell shirts and shorts for you guys to change into!" David used a stick to open a small window ceil above the door.

"Fuck you David!" Max throw his hoodie first and it landed over David's eyes. The stench was so strong that the young man felt his consciousness leave his skull for a second before Neil's shoes smacked his forehead. Effectively bringing him back. David then opened the door slightly as he pushed the spare clothes through the door before quickly shutting it again.

The shower was only meant for one person. It didn't have a curtain either so everything was fairly exposed and the only thing between the shower and the toilet was a sink. There was some elevated tiles that acted as a barrier when the water was turned on to keep everything from seeping over the the rest of the room.

Neil turned the shower on and both boys stood in the far edges of enclosed tiles and stared at their respective walls in relative silence. The soap was already dissolved in two half so he threw one behind him for Max to use. He messaged most of the product into his hair until it didn't feel slimy anymore.

"I'm going towards the middle so don't get close." Neil mumbled with his eyes closed to protect his vision from the soap suds.

"Hm," Max hummed and moved out of the waters way for Neil. He had enjoyed the feeling of water washing over him again but that was probably due to the fact he hasn't felt warm water in months so camp Campbell's subpar water temperature felt passable. Not that he was willing to admit his tolerance to anyone.

Neil continued scrubbing his body with soap as the water rinsed it off. His movements were so eager to remove the grim off his body that the soap slipped through his fingers.

"Fuck," he mumbled automatically and bent down to pick it. His wet hair grazed one of Max's bare butt cheeks.

"SHIT NEIL DIDNT ANYONE TELL YOU NOT TO DROP THE FUCKING SOAP!?" Max was startled out of his skin.

"Sor- HOLY SHIT!" Neil screamed. He may have deliberately tried not to look at Max for privacy sake but his eyes made his body freeze in place when it caught sight of his friend's back. ho-ly _shit_..!

"IS EVERYTHING OK-MAX?!" David slammed the door open in a panic, concerned that the mascot found its way in and attacked his campers. Instead, his eyes meet a horrify sight.

Max's shoulders and back were littered with old scars and circular burns marks; most likely from cigarettes. Without his hoodie, he looked exceptionally skinny where anyone could count the pegs of his spine stretched under his skin. The veins on his back were prominent from years of trauma and stress to the area.

"THE FUCK DAVID!" Max turned around and covered himself. His anger prevented him from realizing what they have witnessed but from the looks of horror they were giving him, he caught on fairly quickly. He looked so vulnerable for a second. Like a small deer caught in the headlights.

Max face felt pinched with shame and vulnerability. Wanting nothing more than to get the fuck out of there, he blindly grabbed a shirt and dashed passed David. He pulled it on quickly but didn't turn back for the pants. Luckily the shirt was big enough to cover him.

"W-wait! Max!" David ran after him, leaving Neil in shower by himself. Shocked and at a loss.

\---

"Max let me in, we have to talk about this!"

Max had hidden himself in his tent and zipped it up. He used thread to tie a knot so no one could unzip it from the outside. David yanked at the zipper to no avail.

"Max!"

"FUCK OFF DAVID! I CAN'T DEAL WITH YOU RIGHT NOW, JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" Max screamed and hit the tent wall facing David.

This was was not happening.

THIS FUCKING SHIT WAS NOT _HAPPENING_!

Max paced back and forth, fingers gripping his wet hair trying to wake up from this fucking nightmare. Realizing this isn’t something he could wake up from, anxiety jitters through his veins and pulsed his heart into overdrive.

He.. he just wants everything to go _away_.

"Max, I'm serious!" David pleaded.

"I AM TOO, DIPSHIT!"

"Max! I saw-!"

"FORGET WHAT YOU SAW, ITS NOTHING!"

"MAX! You can't just tell me what I saw on your body was nothing! You have to tell me what happened to you, I'm your counselor, I'm here to help you!"

"I don't need your help!" Max hit the tent again. David could hear the slight distraught muffle in his voice followed by a dry gasp. He could imagine him trying to keep himself together. Trying his hardest not to break down and cry his lungs out. The image of him trying so hard to contain himself made David's heart ache. The same way it ached on parents day when he saw Max hugging his knees, dealing with his disappointment by himself like a little adult instead of a ten year old child. Wait, Parents day...

"Max..." David voice sounded careful and uneasy; he looking around to make sure no one else was around to hear him. "Did... did your parents do this to you?"

Max froze, he felt cold all over before suddenly feeling really, really hot.

"YOU DONT KNOW SHIT, DAVID!" Max exploded, breaking the thread off the zipper, he opened his tent and shoved David to the ground. The adult was squatting so he lost his balance easily with just a push. Max, nose flaring in rage, proceed to hit his much bigger counselor.

"Max, I'm just trying to understand!" David said as he used one arm to defend himself from Max's fists. His punches didn't inflict the damage Max wanted them to. David shielded himself so effortlessly as if he was being mauled by nothing more than fucking kitten paws and that infuriated the hell out of Max.

"STOP TRYING, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!" Max screamed. David could only look at him with clear concern in his eyes.

Max's arms were so thin. David never realized that his blue hoodie  made him look twice his size. He never saw Max eat anything other than the occasional desert, thinking back. 

The boy is in a modest yellow tank top right now (he had shorts on too which David guessed was his) but the garment emphasized just how damaged Max's upper body was. He had innocent freckles on his shoulders but their usual endearing nature stood no chance against the ugly nicotine burns that decorates the same plane of skin. He had further signs of abuse on his arms. No bruising, thank god, but old scab wounds sat proudly on the one child's complexion. They're dark in color which meant they didn't heal properly. He saw lighter patches of discoloration under the base of his throat.

He didn't want to imagine how Max got those.

"Max..."  David couldn't help but say. The patronizing sound of his name caused Max to get off him in clear disgust and anger. He could practically hear the pity dripping off his voice.

"J-just give me my fucking hoodie when its clean." Max wiped his nose with his arm, absolutely done dealing with David. Before the man could get a word out, Max ran back into the temporary sanctuary of his tent.

\---

"Gwen!" Neil slammed the counselor cabin door open which startled Gwen shitless.

" _Shit_ Neil!" Gwen quickly shoved her young adult literature into her desk drawer. "What the fuck?"

Neil stood at the door, out of breath and wet. He didn't bother to dry off so the clothes stuck onto his body to absorb the moisture. His wet curly hair masked his eyes and it looked like he had his shirt put on backwards.

"...Come here." Gwen rolled her eyes went to go grab a towel. When she returned, she began to rub the towel on his head but he yanked it away.

"Don't patronize me, woman!" Neil pointed at her accusingly. "Don't you see that I'm in the middle of a fucking crisis right now!?"

"What? Your test beakers don't have the right measurements?" 

"No- well yes! Who the fuck writes inches on a beaker when it's meant to measure volume!?" Neil shook his head before he went on a different rant. "Wait, fuck, not the time! Gwen this is serious! I think Max has a shitty home life!"

"Well no shit Sherlock-"

"No! I mean like... like his parents hurt him. Like I saw scars on him, Gwen! We're kids were shouldn't have scars like that!"

Gwen sat up a little straighter.

"Neil, thats a serious accusation." Gwen warned. "I mean, after parent's day I'm pretty sure they're shitty but _abusive_?"

"You should look at his fucking back Gwen!" Neil waved his arms wildly. "He has more shit on his back than Pikeman has zits of his face! David's with him right now!"

"Fuck," Gwen fist balled as she felt something cold fill her chest. Gwen was not equipped to handle this. She didn't even have any real training before becoming a counselor. She hastily patted her hips before pulling out her phone; if anything could help her right now, it was google.

"Ok thanks for letting me know, Neil. I'll handle it from here." Gwen swallowed the lump of anxiety down her throat and tried to seem like she knew what the fuck she was doing.

"Hold the fuck up, I came here for advice Gwen!" Neil yelled. "What the fuck am I suppose to do right now!?"

Gwen looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Neil's anger seemed to simmer a bit as he shuffled his feet and glared up at her.

"Max is a bitch but he's my friend! And-and I don't know what the fuck to do right now! I'm just a kid! Do I pat his back? Lie to his face and tell him he'll be ok? Because that won't do shit!" Neil did not breath throughout his rant, making his face an awfully shade of red and purple. "I'm a man of science, I don't know shit about how to comfort people!"

"Ok, ok, Neil breath." Gwen put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Look, the situation is shitty and Max might be feeling highly defensive right now. As his friend, all you can do right now is be there for him. David and I will figure this shit out, ok?"

Neil sniffles, he's still fucking soaking wet and will probably catch a cold or something.

"...What the hell do I say to him?"

"I don't know, Neil." Gwen admitted. "Just keep your eye on him so he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Thats some shitty advice." Neil grumbled. "Weren't you a 'psychology' major or some shit?"

Gwen let that comment slide as she looked for Max's files.

\---

Neil didn't feel any better about the situation after talking to Gwen. He was still at a loss at what to do and he was pretty sure Max had barricaded himself in their tent. Knowing him, he probably didn't want to talk about it. He noticed David running towards the consolers cabin in a hurry with a look of panic stained on his face. guess it didn't go well.

He tried to think back. Max and him had been shirtless once before; when they were 'brothers' with the intentions of taking the camp back from Ered. But he didn't notice anything. Probably because of his anxiety of being half naked in the woods? Or maybe Max covered it up with black paint? How didn't he notice befo-

"NEEEEEEEEIIIIILLLLL!" Nikki appeared out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground.

"What the fuck Nikki? I just took a shower! Get off me!" Neil sat up annoyed while Nikki was on all fours, reaching for his collar to shake him.

"Something's wrong with Max!"

"W-wait you saw it too!?"

"Saw what?" Nikki tilted her head. "Max won't let me into our tent and I have things in there, Neil! Things! He won't even say anything but I can smell him in there!"  
Nikki pouted. Neil thought for a moment before whispering the reason for Max's strange behavior. She's their friend too and maybe she'll have an idea of what to do. She was more in-tuned with the biological specimen in this camp. And gets along with animals too. He's sure she'll have some idea on how to properly handle this.

He was wrong.

"Fuck, Nikki!" Neil panicked, chasing after her as she ran with a chainsaw in her hands. She stole it from the equipment shed behind the mess hall as soon as Neil told her what happened.

"No running." QM facial hair vibrated as they dashed past him

"I wanna see Max!" Nikki said once they were in front of their tent. "Max let us in, I have a chainsaw and I'm not afraid to use it!"

When they heard nothing, she turned it on. She was quickly mad with power. Again...

"MAWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Neil regretted recent choices.

"The fuck Nikki!?" Max freaked but unzipped the tent. "I thought you were lying!"

"Maaaaax!" Nikki pounced on him, leaving the activated chain saw unattended as it vibrated itself into Lake Lilac.

"Stop doing that to people!" Neil groaned and messaged his temples.

"But I dunno what else to do, Max's hurting." Nikki whimpered as she hugged him with all four of her limbs. Max's eyes widen and he looked at Neil in betrayal.

"You _told_ her!?"

"Max..don't get mad-"

"You fucking TOLD her!?"

"Hey! Why is Neil allowed to know but not me!?" Nikki traded her desire to hug Max for a desire to shake him. "AM I NOT WORTHY!?"

"Nikki calm the fuck down! I don't want anyone to know!" Max pushed her off. "It's not any of your guys business!"

"Bullshit!" Neil shouted.

"Yeah! You're our friend Max! We just wanna help!" Nikki nodded.

"Help? How can you guys fucking help me?" Max glared at them. Neil felt uncomfortable again.

"Hmmmmmm _OH_ , I can be your bodyguard!" Nikki chirped. "I'll beat up anyone that goes near you! And I'll get the wolves to eat their flesh and we could spread their bones on spooky island but keep the skull and put it on a stick as a reminder to others!"

....ok Neil and Max were slightly taken back by the violent imagery.

"And I don't know what I can do but if it's science-y, I'll do it." Neil offered.

Max fell quiet, unsure of what to say in this situation. He glanced down and realized he was unscousiously picking a scab on his knee. Nikki and Neil looked at each other before deciding to sit down on the ground next to their friend. Neither knew what else to say but just wanted to be there for Max. Nikki began digging a hole out of boredom when Neil saw some long pink insects rearing their heads from the soil.

"....Wanna cut worms up and see what their guts look like?" Neil offered. Max and Nikki grinned.

"That's what I like about you Neil, you get me." Max nudged his shoulder.

"I'll go get some scissors!" Nikki cheered.

"Fuck yeah!"

\---

"Gwen I have terrible news!" David said quickly and shut the door behind him.

"If it's about Max, I already know. Neil told me." Gwen was hunched over on her desk, writing down something on a piece of paper. Max's file only had two pieces of paper. His activity sheet and a contact list. The information of the latter document was fairly concerning. For one, the address and phone number applied did not exist according to google. Secondly, Max's last name was nowhere to be found.

"What's that?" David peered curiously over her shoulder.

"I'm writing down how Max's behavior been since the beginning of summer." Gwen seethed. "Did you know he never takes off that stupid hoodie of his!? It's 101 degrees almost everyday out here and we don't have air conditioning but he still never takes it off! That's _How to Spot an Abuse Victim 101_ , David! I majored in this shit but I didn't notice until the last 3 fucking days of camp! He's a fairly independent 10 year old with a foul mouth, anger issues and doesn't see anything wrong with belittling anyone he can! The symptoms are there but I still couldn't see it past my nose!" Gwen broke her pen and the ink splattered onto her shirt.

"Fuck!" 

“Gwen, it's ok!” David winced at her outburst. It was just ink.

“None of the is ok, David!” Gwen snapped before she took a moment to compose herself. “This… this is too much for us to handle. We need to contact the authorities. They know how to deal with shit like this…”

“They’ll put Max in a _home,_ Gwen!”

“And away from his fucking _parents_ , David!” Gwen countered and sighed. “This is more than what I signed up for…”

Gwen messaged her temples. Her head ached with stress and anxiety. She could hear the rest of the campers in the mess hall eating dinner, blissfully unaware of the mental torment she is under.

“How do you think Max will feel if we do call the authorities?” David asked solemnly, sitting down on the couch. Gwen leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling.

“Angry… betrayed… probably hate us even more than he already does.” Gwen shrugged. “But this is all we really _can_ do for him.”

“Is it _really_ all we can do?” David echoed in slight disgust. Gwen looked at him when his tone changed. He was looking down at his his clutched together in his lap. Knuckles white and wrists shaking.

“I feel like I'm not even doing _anything,_ Gwen. Like, I'm just shoving Max somewhere.” David sighed. “I tried to talk to him earlier but he didn't let me help him.”

“Not surprised,” Gwen nodded.

“I…. don't think Max will do well in foster care. He’ll be labeled a problem child and mostly likely stay a ward of the state.” He admitted his concerns. “I can't in good conscious let Max fall through the cracks like that…”

The dryer beeped, indicated that the boys’ clothes were dry. Gwen got up, cracked her throbbing spine and opened the dryer. It was a laundromat dryer; the kind that operated on coins. Gwen could easily imagine Campbell stealing this and bringing it back here to extort more money from his employees.

“Listen, if you think there something more we can do for him, I’m all ears but for right now,” Gwen rubbed her tired eyes. “Until you figure out what that something is, call Children Protections Services. We need to do right by Max, to make sure he is never has to endure more than what he already has.”

She handed him a slip of paper with a phone number on it. David took it from her sadly and let out a dejected sigh.

“Ok…” David admitted in defeat as Gwen folded the warm laundry.

“....how bad was it?” She asked carefully and almost nonchalantly. Pretending like answer wouldn't change how she viewed Max.

“....it wasn't a pleasant sight.” As all David admitted. "I don't know  how someone could do something so horrible to him, Gwen. He's only ten..."

Gwen felt a painful tug at her heart but ignored it and went to return boys clothing. Unknown to them, a little green-haired gremlin overheard their discussion and went to warn her friends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OH FUCK A LADY IS HERE FROM PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOR MAX! Luckily Max has some good friends that help him invade capture and you know, burn down the camp while they're at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOOH ITS WEDNESDAY, IM DONE WITH CLASSES FOR THE DAY AND I POSTED THE CHAPTER! This story has almost 100 kudos and over 800 hits and so many comments! It made me so happy!

Gwen did not sleep well that night. Too many things are swimming in her head and her body ache after surviving a Nikki attack.

Gwen was deep in thought as she walked towards the trio's tent. She was contemplating what she would say when she say Max when a suddenly, wild Nikki appeared! She jumped straight out of the bushes and bite her leg. Nikki barked and kept trying to climb her, looking for more flesh to sink her teeth in. She had to fend herself with a long stick until she threw Max's hoodie at her, momentarily confusing her. As Nikki struggled to get the hoodie off her legs, Gwen threw everything at the tent and made a run for it.

She didn't see Max. Which might have been a good thing. She couldn't promise herself that she would have been able to look at Max without a bit of sadness in her eyes. That would only infuriate the already jaded ten year old further.

But at the same time, not having that visual made everything feel so surreal to her. She never realistically imagined that Max, or any of the campers, would be in a scary situation like that. It made sense, now that she thinks about it but it's a realization that made her physically ill. And of course, her anxiety kicked in, replaying every shitty thing she has done this whole summer in her head. She especially felt horrible about the time she humiliated Max in front of the other campers. Revealing his obviously cherished bear in front of everyone and telling him to eat shit.

Although she still would like to point out that Max was being an exceptional piece of shit that day. But that being said, it didn't help settle her guilt residing in the pits of her stomach. Imagine, Max, this tough, little smartass son of bitch, came from a place of abuse and possibly neglect. And knowing that, made Gwen sad and angry.

Sleep almost came for Gwen but she jolted upright when she heard a scream of utter terror. Right before a van crashed through the wall of her room.

"HOLY FUCK!" Gwen covered herself automatically with her blanket.

"Gwen, are you alright!?" David slammed her door open; already in his camp counselor uniform. Gwen shot him an annoyed look and pointed to the fucking WHITE VAN THAT NEARLY CRASHED INTO HER BED.

"Is...is that a harpoon?" David looked at the sea spear pierced into the top of the car roof.

"I got 'em, I got 'em!" QM yelled excitedly as he ran into Gwen’s room. He pushed David out of the way with his hook and ran to his fallen pray. David yelped when the hook tore his sleeve as he fell onto Gwen's bed. He subconsciously went further up to cling to her in fear.

"QM, what the fuck!?" Gwen gaped.

"This here is meh white whale, get char own!" The Quartermaster pointed his hook towards them, a piece of moss green fabric hanging off the tip. He had that scary twinkle in his eyes when he looked back to the damaged van in his arms. He caressed its shiny metallic skin and …. grind his pelvis against the vehicle sensually. Gwen's eye twitched in disgust. Her hand automatically covered David's eyes to preserve his innocence.

"Vou! V-Vou horrid hillbilly! Get ah-vay from my van!" A women screamed as she kicked the crippled drivers door clean off. No jaws of life needed.

Attached to the powerful leg is an terrifyingly angry specimen of nature. With beady eyes and crooked teeth. The woman is plump, juicy and furious with a tight hair bun lifting the skin of her red face a bit. She kinda reminded Gwen of the scotsman's wife from samurai jack but with black hair and.... a British accent? Or Norwegian? Probably something European.

"This will teach Vou for deflowering my van and shooting it with a harvoon!" The owner of the van unwrapped her belt from her waist. She let out a Vikings cry and proceed to whip QM's back with extreme skills.

"Holy shit!" Gwen grinned, the scene reminding her of trashy tv.

The woman switched her belt to her left hand snapped it against his sides. Forcing him away from the van and towards the door. QM groaned, seeming to be enjoy this?

"Is ain't your first time belt whipping, is it?" He hummed through his . . . mustache? or his extremely long nose hairs?

"Gwen, what's happening?" David whimpered and was fairly confused.

The woman rolled her eyes at the old man as she crack her belt against QM's bum, moving her offender gradually out the door.

"I don't know but I'm loving this! GET HIM BITCH!" Gwen grinned at the over the top violence and cheered the woman on. The women glanced their way as she slammed the door in the old man's face. She slipped her belt back against her waist in a swift, lady-like motion.

"It seems my near death experiences interrupted vou two." She remarked, disinterested. Gwen realized the intimate position she and David were in. On her bed, David is comfortably perched on her lap with his arms laced around her neck. She had her arm wrapped from his back to rest her hand against his eyes while the other rested on his outer thigh. Awfully close to his hip.

Feeling the blood rush towards her face, she quickly shoved his bony butt off her thighs.

"Ow!" David yelped. "Wait, ma'am who are you?"

"My name is Sandra Bulvik from Child Vrotective Services." She straightened her coat and opened her folder with her meaty fingers. "I'm here for a...Max?"

"What? Now, wait just a minute!" David got up. "The person I spoke to said they would arrive for Max tomorrow, after camp was over!"

"So I assume you the counselors,” She eyed them. “Great… Vhere’s Cameron?”

“Uh… Mr. Campbell was sent to Super Guantanamo.” David supplied.

“Ah, Wonderful. I was not looking forward to dealing with that fucker.” Ms. Bulvik slipped the folder under her arm. “Now, vou, the harlot. Go make me some coffee.”

“Hey!” Gwen frowned.

“Not vou; the one with the red hair.”

“Hey!” David hand flew to his chest in offense.

"What fuck went on here?" Neil asked QM, who was stalking outside the counselor cabin window. When no one was in the mess hall making breakfast, Max kicked him out. Telling him to go find someone to feed them instead of standing in line with everyone else like the sheep he was. Low and behold, he seemed to have stumbled an aftermath of a disaster. Deep, swerving tire tracks littered the camp ground and towards the side of the cabin. He guessed the van hit Gwen's room, seeing as some of the debris included pages of young adult literature.

"An angel has descended upon this camp," QM said dreamingly. Neil looked through the screen but he saw no angel. To him, he saw a fairly large woman that could probably eat him if given the chance. He looked at QM questionably but really didn't care to ask him anything further.

"Oh. She's social worker too."

"WHAT?" Neil freaked.

"They can't all be perfect, kid." The old man shrugged. Neil looked through the screen and saw the troll woman speaking with David and Gwen. Oh no, she must be here for—

"HOLY SHIT!" Neil dashed off.

"...No running."

———

"Max!" Neil slammed the mess hall door open and marched towards his friend.

"Oh, hey Neil," Max greeted in his usual, early morning monotone. "Is anyone gonna feed us or— the fuck?” before he knew it, Neil had grabbed the collar of his hoodie and Nikki by the straps of her overalls.

"Is this a new game?" Nikki asked, not minding that she was dragged out to the camp grounds. Neil didn't say anything when he threw his friends into his 'lab' and closed the tent flaps.

"This is serious, like really fucking serious!" Neil paced back and forth. Once he was sure no one was listening, he turned on his computer.

"David and Gwen called a social worker!"

Max eyes widen like saucers. What the actual fuck? He knew David would probably get others involved, like his parents. He half expected to see maybe one of them show up to defend their actions or to take him home but not this! A social worker? David and Gwen turned him in? To child services?

Ok so Nikki might have said it would come to that last night when she went out looking for scissors but she also said David didn't seem to want to call them. He would have thought that maybe David would put himself in his shoes and not make a big deal about his personal life. Or at least wait until after the last day of camp so Nikki and Neil wouldn't see the shit storm called his life explode everywhere.

He felt like someone ripped the rug from under him. Fear and betrayal stirred his gut until it felt like it would explode from his abdomen. He felt a small, semi-comforting body hug him from behind.

“Does that mean they're here for Max?” Nikki latched herself to her friend. “I’M NOT GONNA LET ANYONE TAKE YOU MAX! YOU HAVE MY WORD!”

“No one going to take him,” Neil rolled his eyes. “Because we’re getting him out of here before they get the fucking chance to.”

“What?” Nikki eyed him curiously. “No offense Neil but all our escape attempts have failed. They were really fun! But failed.”

“Yeah and the last time we tried to make a run for it, you two ended at the Flowers scouts. While I was persecuted by the Wood Scouts for a full day.” Max remembered. “Oh, and I was mauled by a fucking falcon!”

“You were not!” Nikki rolled her eyes. “Timothy went there to save you! Not pick out your eyes. Rest in peace, my friend.” She looked into the sky woefully. Rest in peace Timothy, wherever you are...

“Well, thanks to that little adventure, I got my hands on this!” Neil held up a pretty pink badge.

“Whats tha-”

“OH! OH! OH! I know, it’s the Flower Scouts Hot Spot Badge!” Nikki proclaimed her answer.

“Very good, Nikki.” Neil threw a skittle at her which she caught in her mouth.

“Woah, where’d you get the good shit?” Max wanted a skittle too and tried to take it from Neil but he moved it out of his reach.

“My mom sent it to me after parent day so I would like her better than my dad. I’ve been using it to train Nikki into being my lab assistant.” Neil said. “She only responds well with food.”

Nikki nodded.

“Now with this, I can connect to the internet!” Neil connected a modified calculator to his computer tower and turned the Flower Scout badge on.

“So what's the plan?” Nikki vibrated with excitement. “Are we going to luanch Max out of a canon? Do we have a canon? Oh! We can hide him in the woods! He can kill an animal and wear its carcass until he is accepted into nature!”

Max and Neil looked at her and simultaneously took one step further away from their friend.

“Thats…. Fucked up, Nikki,” Neil shook his head. “No, I’m just going to set his GPS to take him into town.”

“What am I going to do there?” Max raised his eyebrow.

“Hide there? My Dad is picking me up tomorrow. He likes to sightsee and shit so he’ll probably force me into town anyway. You’ll sneak into the car and and you can live in my house or something.”

“What, no fair!” Nikki frown. “Can I come too?”

“Child services isn’t after you, Nikki.” Max reminded her. “Focus! We aren’t playing around here, this is some serious shit!”

She frowned and crawled under Max’s beanbag. She shuffle underneath it for awhile before he saw her crawled under the tent flap and run outside. He guess he might have been too harsh on her but right now his veins are jittering with anxiety and dread. He has no patience for this shit.

“Ok Max,” Neil turned around. “I set the coordinates. Do not refresh it, for the love of science, do not refresh it until you're in a wifi zone! It’ll lose the current data looking for new data. I also I added a message app, which also needs wifi but we’ll be able to contact each other once you reach civilization.

“Thanks, Neil.” Max smiled as he extended his fist. “I really appreciate this man.”

“Hey, just stay in touch when you’re get into town. Otherwise I’ll have a panic attack and that shit will be on you.” He smiled slightly and mirrored his fist to Max’s.

Max will never admit this. You could hold a gun to his head but he would much rather bite his off his tongue. But if he was grateful for anything that happened in this shit hole, it’s that Neil and Nikki were dumped here too.

He hadn’t realized until now but he stopped trying to escape on his own because he couldn’t leave them behind. They’re a trio, they cause mayhem, they even hijacked a fucking plane together once! Sure, they crashed into Flower scouts headquarters and ultimately had to return the shit they stole but it made him realize how connected he was to these bastards. If he dared, he would go as far to call them his . . .

Best friends. . .

Oh god, the cheesiness of his thoughts are killing him. They are his comrades in arms. Yeah, that's a better term for them. It suits them much better. Considering how they stuck with him all night after learning about his abuse. They didn't force him to open up. They didn't pry, they genuinely just wanted to be with him because they cared and tried to make him feel better. That's something a lot of people never did for him.

He gripped the makeshift GPS in his hands. He should probably make up with Nikki be he left.

“Holy fuck!” Neil screamed when the camp pole fell and tore the tent flap from his ‘lab’.

“What the hell is happening?” Max looked around at the chaos. Everyone was screaming and tearing the camp apart. Nurf was on a rampage, generally having a good time. Nerris and Harrison were having their usual fights to the deaths. Screaming to each other about something. Dolf was running around carrying his paintings, shielding them from the spontaneous fires erupting all over the camp. Preston was screaming ‘Not the curtains!’ and space kid was screaming that his helmet was cracked. Even Ered seem less laidback as usual, as she sat against a wall. But only slightly.

“Oh, I told them David and Gwen are dead and we had to fend for ourselves for now on cuz the zombie apocalypse is happening.” Nikki smiled, startling Max and Neil with her sudden appearance.

“Oh fuck, I need to protect my shit from these savages!” Neil freaked. “Technology is the first things people break during zombie apocalypses!” He began to gather his things and ran to hide them in his tent.

“Why would you do that?” Max asked her before she shoved David’s camping bag in his face. He peeped inside and saw a jar of instant coffee, a thermos, pudding cups, Gwen’s softest security blanket and . . . Mr. HoneyNuts? He quickly closed the bag against his chest in embarrassment. HOW DID SHE FIND HIM?

“I’m an agent of chaos,” Nikki announced proudly. “I thought we would need a cover while you escape and hey look! I stole all the good stuff in camp and I got you a travel buddy!" Max’s eyes followed the direction Nikki was pointing to.

"Nikki... is that a wolf?" Max looked curiously at her.

"Heh, yeah," Nikki sniffed. "I named him Frederick! He will be your guide in case you get lost! Just don't let him taste human flesh.” She handed him a rope attached to the wolf’s neck as it came closer.

Max couldn't help but grin at the fact he is finally leaving Camp Campbell while it's in a state of total turmoil. This was how he always pictured it.

“Oh and here’s my grandma’s phone number.” Nikki handed him a slip of paper with her name and number on it. The fives were drawn backwards and in crayon. “My mom never lets me use her phone but my grandma lets me use hers all the time, so don't be a stranger!”

If Max was being honest, he never expected to ever want anything to do with anyone in this shithole. But Neil and Nikki were the exception.

“Yeah, will do.” Max slipped it in one of the many pockets of David’s camping bag. “Thanks for everything, Nik.”

Oh god, he said thank you two times in the same day. The agony!

“No problem buddy! Now get!” Nikki smacked the wolf’s behind. It let out a yelp and ran into the forest with Max barely hanging onto the rope as he fumbled behind the beast.

“Nikki, what the hell!”

“Bye Max!”

__

"I still don't understand why you have to take Max now instead of tomorrow." David frowned. “We still have to finish our camp activities!”

Ms. Bulvik sighed as she tucked Gwen's notes into Max's state files. Our stoic counselor was dressed in uniform now as she taped a poster over the window QM was stalking by. She appreciated the old man but he was still very creepy. And seemed awfully fixated on Bulvik.

While she was doing that, David was standing over Ms. Bulvik as she sat on a desk, putting together Max’s files. Her presence seemed to waver David’s typical morning optimism. Which to its own defense, is typically a hard thing to crack. He kept bugging the social worker over and over about Max that she sighed and finally gave in. It was too early for this crap.

"It has comes to our attention that Max vas abandon here. Ve vere unable to locate his parents with the information vou gave us. So ve must have Max put into our care for further investigation."

"What!?" Gwen exclaimed, the tape falling from her hands. A corner of the poster fell limp revealing QM’s face on the other side of the glass. David face paled and it seemed like Max's situation only ever seem to get grimmer. Despite never personally meeting them, both counselors felt a bit of animosity towards Max’s parents. How could they up and leave him here? What did they think would happen when summer ended? Did they really not care about Max at all?

"Max has been.... I need to... I need to sit down." David’s body staggered towards the couch.

"So like his parent up and left him here for good?" Gwen clutched her fingers together.

"It vould seem that it seems to be the case." Bulvik nodded as she took a sip from her coffee.

"So when we hand Max over to you," Gwen contemplated her words. "What's going to happen to him?"

"He'll be put in the district state care where ve shall evaluate his circumstances and see what ve can do for the boy." She looked up. "That is all I am at liberty to say."

The room filled itself with silence. You could hear the wheels turning in David head before he looked up.

“Ms. Bulvik,” David started. “I have no doubt that under these dreadful circumstances, Max will have to go with you... But I doubt he’ll thrive in the system… So I must ask you, will you allow me to adopt Max when everything is settled?”

Gwen choked on air.

“David!”

“Vou want to adopt the child?” Bulvik raised a skeptical eyebrow at this.

“Yes!” David nodded. “I’ve had Max for a summer now and am aware of his behavior. He’s not a bad child, he’s just angry. I use to work at a daycare so I have the proper qualifications.”

“If the boy is in vour care, would vou willingly allow Max to participate in our investigation?” Giving the young harlot a chance, Ms. Bulvik pulled out her tablet. (Which had abstain some damage in the crash early.) She proceed to look up typical questions for potential adoptive parents.

“Yes.”

“Describe the family you grew up in.”

“Well, I lived with a few families.” He smiled. “I’ve been through the system and the ones I had meant well and were kind.”

Gwen stared at David. No wonder he was so defensive about calling protective services. He actually had first hand experience them. She never would have pictured David as a foster kid. Then again, she can’t imagine him being a troublemaker that he claimed to have been as a child either.

“ Do vou have or had any drug or alcohol dependency?”

“No ma’am, if I have a dependency on anything its friendship and nature!”

“. . . Do you have any references?”

“Not on me, but I’m sure I can get some!” David only seems to get chipper the more Ms. Bulvik asks him questions. Gwen was biting her nails subconsciously to calm her nerves.

“Where vould vou both live?”

“Um, at my friend’s lodge house in Ontario.” David thought about it, before adding quickly. “Just until I can afford a new place.”

“Canada?” She gave him an aporetic look. “So, seeing as vou are employed by Cameron . . . I’m assuming vou do not have enough money to go through the adoption process. Let alone afford to enlist the help of an international adoption agency to take care of the proper paperwork.”

“I don't know about that.” He chuckled nervously, fiddling with his hands. “I have a bit saved up. How much does it usually cost?”

“Typically thirty grand, give or take.”

“Thirty grand!” Gwen exploded. “That could get me out of student debt!”

“Thats . . a lot.” David smile strained a bit. “B-but I’m sure I can-”

“Nope! Hold the goddamn phone!” Gwen cut in. “Excuse us for a minute, David c’mere!”

“Wha- ah!” Gwen practically threw him into the bathroom. Which was honestly the only place anyone could get some privacy around here. She locked the door and glared up at David, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"David, what were you thinking?" Gwen whispered her yell.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Gwen." David chuckled nervously. More concerned with the fact that he was in a very small, confined place with his angry co-counselor. There is very little room to run or hide. Or move since they had to share the space with a sink and toilet.

“You can’t just decide to adopt a kid out of the blue! Kids are a handful and apparently _very_ expensive!”

“I know but I _want_ to do this,” David laughed. “And we took care of the campers here without much trouble!”

“Just this summer alone, you were hit by a vehicle, Twice! Stabbed in the hands, also twice! Nikki bit you to exert her dominance. We were almost set on fire, nearly implied by arrows and Max tried to hit you with a boulder.” Gwen recounted. “Which he wrote ‘fuck the police’ on.”

“Oh Gwen, that's just kids stuff!” David tried to laugh it off like it was no big deal but his facial expressions were strained again.

“David, I honestly don’t think she’s going to hand Max over to you.”

“Then I'll just go to Canada, pay the expired visa fee, and try to get in touch the agency Max will be under. She did say he’ll be in state care. It’ll take a few months but I bet I’ll get all the qualifications in order and there will be no way she can say no to that.” David countered.

“Expired visa fee? Why would you have to-” It suddenly occurred to Gwen that on the rare occasions Campbell remembered to pay them, she would receive a check. But David got his wages paid in cash. She stared at him in shock as he gave her an embarrassed but apologetic grin. Like he was caught with his hand in a cookie jar or something. It isn't fair how innocent David’s eyes were sometimes. It makes it really hard to be mad at him.

“You… you adorable undocumented son of a bitch.” Gwen groaned in slight annoyance.

“You think I'm adorable?”

“You're focusing on the wrong thing!” She snapped. “I need you to really think about this. I know you want to help Max but is it really worth going in debt for?”

David frowned.

“David... I know that you want to save everyone but sometimes it isn’t possible.” Gwen paused. “Max will be ok. With or without us.”

“How could you say that,” He seethed. “How can you say that like you’re so sure?”

“David-”

“No, it my turn to talk!” he snapped. “I don’t understand how you would think that giving Max up and turning your back on him will make any of this ok!”

“I’m not turning my back on him!” Gwen defended. “I’m doing this because this is what you’re suppose to do in these kinds of situations! David, you’re barely twenty and you have no job after tomorrow and Max needs things. Clothes, food, school supplies, heck, maybe even braces! Can you even afford that?”

“How can you be so sure that if we send him off he’ll even get those things! Not all kids do!”

Gwen's lips thinned tightly. She couldn’t retort now that she knew David had personal experience as a former foster kid. She has no idea what he might have been deprived of in the system.

“At least this way,” David continued. “I can try my darndest to get him everything. Max needs to see that someone is in his corner. When he finds out what his parents did, he’s going to be hurt, Gwen. Someone has to be there for him. And by golly, I want to make sure he knows that everything is going to be ok after today and that he has someone he can depend on!”

“Why does it have to be _you,_ David?” Gwen snapped. “Why do you feel like you have to be in the middle of all this.”

“Because someone just fucking has to be,” With that David unlocked the door and walked away from the argument. Gwen followed him out, arms crossed. She severely doubt she could do anything to change his mind at this point and she has a headache just from arguing with him this much.

"Welcome back." Ms. Bulvik responded causally when they returned. She was lazily sprawled onto the couch, with a leg on the armrest. Causally reading Boobs and Butts from Gwen erotica collection.

"Hey that's mine." Gwen frowned.

"Ma'am, I'm sure there is something I can do to keep Max." David pleaded with newly found determination. "You see, I'm a capable and responsible adult with child caring experience! All summer I’ve made sure all the kids in our camp are safe and-”

“We ourselves got another uprising.” QM cut in. He popped out from Gwen’s room, seeing as there is a wall missing, he was able to get in easily.

“What?” Gwen ran outside, followed closely by David. The camp was standing on it last legs as the kids ripped the walls off the mess hall and ran to their designated bases. The platypus and spice kid were fight over an half empty pudding cup and Nurf was screaming as he set the fallen flag pole on fire. Neil was yelling at everyone to get away from his tent and Nikki was calling everyone zombie scum as she rode on the back of a wolf. 

“Oh god, we forgot to feed these little shits,” Gwen slapped her forehead. David chuckled nervously as he glanced towards the social worker. She seemed fairly calm as she witnessed the turmoil. She wrote something down in her file and David couldn't help but let out a distressed whine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to cut the chapter in half. This was originally 30 pages long so I decided to post the first 15 today and the next 15 Saturday and just start uploading on Saturdays. COMMENT, KUDOS AND SUCH CUZ THOSE GIVE ME MOTIVATION  
> ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit guys! I am so sorry! I was going to post this chapter this morning but I'm sick! I felt like shit. I took some medicine and basically slept the entire day away! I feel better now and I looked through my email and saw someone commented on my story and I was like, SHIT I NEED TO UPDATE! so here it is!!
> 
> Gwen and David find out Max is missing and David is pissed.

Max couldn’t take the main road into town. If David came after him with the car, he’ll certainly spot him. So instead, Neil calibrated the map to take him through the woods. Which for the record, took longer and it was incredibly hard to walk through it efficiently. Especially for someone with short, pre-pubescent legs like Max’s. The open-air tree roots were tall, thick and came up his knees. The ground was laced with slippery moss and shit that looked like poison ivy.

Max thought back to those horrible horror movies he use to rent when his parents weren’t home. He specifically remembered a woman running in terror in the forest despite wearing heels. It now seemed like utter bullshit to him because without a cleared path, walking is a challenge. It’s hard to find a sturdy area to step on because the ground was covered in plants and other green stuff. Some areas where questionably squishy and wet.

He honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he found some decomposing body out here.

“So,” Max looked at the fanged creature next to him. The wolf seemed to be in its element and had no trouble walking.

“You’ve never eaten people, right?”

Frederick glanced at the human fledgling. Max couldn’t tell what it was thinking as its eyes glazed over him. It snorted and looked back ahead.

“Not, much of a talker? Cool, me neither.” Max has never wanted human interaction so much in his life until now.

He felt a ping of anxiety in his chest. He wasn’t familiar with these parts of the woods and now wished he had taken the main road and hitchhike into town instead. He needed some sort of familiarity with him to keep him calm. Like Neil’s rants about science or Nikki’s tarzan screech.

No, Max. Keep your eye on prize. He’s going to make it into town. Call his parents to pick him up there and maybe get to see Neil one last time in person. He doubt he lives anywhere near Max and after he tells his parents about social services, he doubt he’ll return to camp next summer. And that would really . . . suck.

He will like to point out that there is no way he’ll ever miss that shithole of a camp. Not in any possible way. What he will miss, however, is hanging out with Nikki and Neil on a regular basis. He doesn’t have friends during the school years. Everyone his age has yet to grew enough brain cells to function like actual people. Plus, Max can be a little bit of an asshole sometimes. Nikki and Neil never seemed to mind that about him though!

Max scowled at the sickening realization that the trio may grow apart now that summer is over.

While deep in his depressing thoughts, Max lost his footing and fell.

“Fucking damn it!” Max grunted when he slipped, his ass wiped down the moss and bark off a root. He hit his head solid ground. While his puffy hair cushioned the blow, the impact forced a small tear to pool at the outer edges of his eyes. He gritted his teeth.

He hates this! He hates the moss stain on his pants. He hates nature. He hates David. He hates Gwen. And he hates how they started this shit show of fuckery. Like seriously, sicking the authorities on him? That’s low, even for them!

“Hey, didn’t Nikki tell you to be my guide or some shit? Help me!” Max was stuck between the roots as he extended his arm towards Frederick. He could have sworn he saw the beast roll his eyes at him before pulling him out by his pants leg. Apparently, Frederick decided it was better to carry Max by his leg instead letting him waddle through woods on his useless human legs.

Max seemed to accept his fate fairly quickly without much resistance. Not even bothered by the fact that his hair was sweeping the ground and any insects could climb up and lay eggs on his scalp. He was too busy staring at the modified calculator gps in his hands. It suffered a bit of damage after the fall.

“Don’t tell me it's broken!” Max freaked when the screen glitched. He shook it a bit as if that was going to fix it somehow. Miraculously, it did help! The static snow on the screen lessened so his map became clearer. His relief a short-lived.

Frederick suddenly drop the small boy. He sniffed around, the aroma of fresh flesh penetrated his nostrils. His primitive instinct provoking him to stop and find the source.

“Hey, what was that for? I barely got this shitty thing to work!” Max glared as he got up. Not bothering to react to Max's annoyance, Frederick went further ahead. Max rolled his eyes at the animal before following close behind with the GPS in his hand. They headed towards their desired the direction until he spotted a single tree with white, peeling bark. It was a highlighted as turning marker on the map.

“Hey, we take a left here and- OH GROSS!” Max looked up to see dead deer laying a few feet in front of them with its abdomen sliced open and guts hanging out. Mosquitos and flies already buzzing, fighting for their claim of corpse. While Max felt like he was going to puke by the sent alone, Frederick saw this as free lunch.

“Oh fuck… ” Max’s eye twitched in discomfort when Frederick stuck his entire head in carcass's chest. Looking for the juicy organs to devour first.

It’s one thing to see shit like this in movies. You can tell yourself that it looks fake because it is. But when it happens in front of you, there really isn't much to deny.

“Come on, I wanna get into town before it gets too dark to see shit!” Max averted his eyes but had his arm stretched towards Frederick. Trying to derail his attention away from the dead animal.

He looked up to look at the human fledgling. Did he want some meat too?

Before Frederick could offer some scraps to the incapable fledgling, a loud wooosh perpetrated the peace. Out of seemingly nowhere, a large rock fell on his head. It happened so fast that it took Max two full seconds to process what just happened.

“What… THE ACTUAL FUCK?!” Max exploded. How fucked up are these woods? Has he not been traumatized enough for one day? Where did that fucking rock even come from?

As if to answer his question, an army of squirrels jumped from out of their designated positions. Surrounding Max with their rabid teeth bared and fur standing tall on their backs.

A single black squirrel with a scar and a eyepatch came forward to address the abundant army.

“Brothers and sisters,” he squeaked in a language that only the animals could understand. “I present to you a witness of our late king assassination. For he was there, with the murder!”

The crowd squealed with outrage.

“Did I not say that there will be dire consequences?” He looked around at his brethren. “Did I not say we shall get our revenge?”

The squirrels jumped with excitement and glee. Cheering for the anticipated repercussions against humankind.

“The day has come,” the small, intimidating creature gestures towards Max. “Get him!”

Max of course had absolutely no idea what was going on. From his perspective, his predatorily companion was just murdered by a flock of squirrels and now they’re glaring at him?

Max took several slow cautious steps backwards before making a run for it. Sadly, the heavy density of the forest is a clear disadvantage for him and he was tackled in no time.

“WHAT THE HELL, GET OFF ME!?” Max squirmed as the rodents of the forest tied his limbs to his sides. The vine tightened against Max’s arms enough that he let out a pained wince in discomfort.

“FUCK ALL OF YOU!” Max gritted his teeth.

He managed to kick a few straight towards a tree but he was by far outnumbered. They dragged him deeper into the darker end of the woods. Max cursing and kicking the entire way.

——

“Nurf stop setting shit on fire!” Gwen screamed as she threw sand at the flames for the second time that week. “Nikki I swear to god if you don’t get off that animal I’m gonna- NIKKI NO! PUT SPACE KID DOWN RIGHT NOW! I’LL FUCKING GRAB THE TRANQUILIZER DART GUN AGAIN!”

“Not the helmet! Not the helmet!,” Space kid freaked.

“Don’t tell me what to do, white devil!” Nikki cackled as she rode away with space kid in the jaws of her beast.

The camp is, once again, on its last legs. Despite missing parts of the walls, Neil, Preston and Dolf were perched on the roof of the mess hall. They brought their stuff up there for safekeeping because everyone on ground level are barbarians! Their shit must be protected! The flagpole has fallen and the kids are scattered around. Except Ered, she in the middle of everything, casually lounging on Max’s bean bag chair because finders keepers is law during the zombie apocalypse.

“Is it alvays like this?” Bulivik notes the madness.

“Of course not, ma’am!” David fibbed through his teeth, big grin plastered on his face. He frantically throw sand on the burning flagpole, trying to put out the fire. “This is very unusual for my campers!”

Oh David. Why must you lie?

“Eat this zombie scum!” Nerris appeared out of the bushes, her glasses cracked and her pointy hat ripped. She expertly shot multiple sided dices at the panicked Canadian.

“Ow, Nerris!” David blocked the ones aimed at his face.

“Hey. . . he does not sound like a zombie.” Harrison poked his head out from the same bush. Apparently him and Nerris formed a rocky alliance.

“Oh thank god, neither does Gwen!” Nurf calmed down to the soothing sound of Gwen screaming at the other campers to get their shit together.

“Don’t fall for their trickery!” Nikki yelled. Gwen managed to pull her off the wild animal she befriended and had to tuck the child under her arm. It kept Nikki in one place while she and the wolf engaged in a strange tag-a-war match for space kid. Space kid was used as the rope.

“Don’t let them sneeze on you!” Nikki tried one last time to enact the chaos once more. But seeing as the adults are alive and well, the campers started to put out fires. Preston and Dolf were hugging, crying with relief since they have managed to protect their precious supplies and props during the short lived apocalypse.

“Nikki, did you have something to do with this?” David asked sternly, fists to his hips.

“. . . Is that a trick question?”

“Nikki, what the fuck?” Gwen muttered as she finally freed space kid. She put both kids down and the counselors towered over the guilty wild child.

“You can’t make me talk!” Nikki tried to run and but Gwen had a hand on the straps of her overalls, which prevented her from getting far.

“Vhere’s Max?” Bulvik looked around and picked up Space kid by the leg. “Is he this one?”

“Woah, the world is upside down!” Space kid gaped excitedly.

“No that’s space kid,” Nikki pointed. “Max left.”

“Nikki!” Neil gasped at his friend as he attempted to get off the roof with his stuff. He fell with his stuff but the bushes broke his fall. Realizing what she accidentally revealed, she covered her mouth. Bulvik dropped space kid.

“Ow... I’m ok!”

“What?!” David screeched in horror.

“David!” Gwen winced and covered her ears. Wait . . . Max’s gone!?

“Max escaped?”

“No way.”

“I mean, we’re going home tomorrow so what’s the point?”

The campers gossip amongst themselves about Max’s recent escape. Ms. Bulvik couldn’t help but message her temple in annoyance.

“My god, another one?” She groaned and gritted her unsettling teeth. “Vhat else did I expect from Cameron’s fuckery of a camp?” She was mostly muttering to herself but Gwen overheard her strange comment.

“Nikki where is he?” David grasped the child’s shoulders. “When did he leave!?”

Nikki shook her head, hands over her mouth. She is incredibly bad at keeping secrets. Until now, she never cared if she accidentally let out some sensitive information to people. It never affected her before but now, she is hyper aware of it. She wants keep Max safe and to do that, she knew she had to keep her mouth shut.

“Neil, I suspect you know something about this.” Gwen pulled Neil out of the bushes. The lanky boy tried to get away but she had him by the back of his turtleneck.

“I don’t know shit!” He crossed his arms.

“Kids, this is serious,” David strained. “Don’t you know that the forest can be very dangerous! There are wild animals, poison ivy -”

“Decaying corpses.” QM added.

“This is not a joking matter!” David snapped. The campers flinched. They’re use to David expressing his anger (as rare as it is) in a passive aggressive manner but holy shit. . . David is furious.

“I don’t know what you three were thinking?” David lectured the duo. “Did it not occur to any of you that things could go really wrong? What if some pedophile kidnaps him?! What if he fell of a cliff or attacked by bears!?”

“David breath,” Gwen put her hands on David's heaving chest and back,trying to calm him. His face is so red, he’ll pop a blood vessel if he doesn't lower his blood pressure. “They’re just kids, they don’t think things through sometimes.”

“Max isn’t dumb enough to fall for some pervert’s shit or fall off some cliff!” Neil yelled. “And what other option did we have? Look who you brought! I thought you were on our side you fucking traitor!”

He pointed to Bulvik, who raised a thick eyebrow at the child’s finger pointing. Neil was not willing to say anything else about it. At least not in front of the of the entire camp. Max would’ve been furious if everyone knew about his home life. He didn’t want to put him through that exposure. David eyebrows knitted together and his lips thinned in a deep frown.

In the sudden silence, everyone heard a subtle beeping coming from a bush outside the mess hall.

“Is that your computer Neil?” Nikki spoke through her fingers.

“Oh shit. . .” Neil ran to his beloved.

“Wait, how are you getting wifi here?” Gwen asked. Nikki said something but it came out muffled since she still refused to release her lips from her mouth.

“Max is off the path!” Neil blurted, feeling the anxiety and dread freezing his chest.

“You’re tracking Max?” David instinctively moved Neil out of the way to view the computer screen. He imagined it would be a map with a dot indicating Max’s exact location but he was disappointed to see it wasn’t. It was a vague circle map with Camp in the center, town in the edge and random images.

“The circle is red that means Max is off the path!” Neil whized. Gwen quickly gave the poor boy a bag to breath in and sat him down slowly. “He was heading towards town! But the signal I got says he’s heading east! THAT'S THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF TOWN!”

“I’m sure he’s fine!” Nikki shrugged, lowering her hand defence. “He has Frederick with him!”

“. . . Nikki is that one of your wolf friends?” Gwen feared.

“Heh, yeah.”

“Oh god.” David suddenly felt sick with concern.

“Am I to assume the child is dead then?” Bulvik addressed. “If that is the case, I’ll take my leave. Someone call an uber.”

Everyone within earshot turned and looked at her in shock and deafening silence.

You could hear the muscles of David’s hands as it fisted in sudden resentment; he is utterly horrified at the woman’s cold attitude towards Max’s disappearance. Not to mention the word ‘dead’ only accelerated Neil’s anxiety, his palms were already sticky with nervous sweats.

“Wait, you’re just gonna _leave_?” Gwen’s eye twitch as she gritted her teeth in anger.

“Don’t worry, I won’t call the authorities. I still owe that fucker Cameron a favor.” The corrupt social worker rolled her eyes. “As far as this visit, I was never here.”

“Now wait just a darn minute!” David snapped. “You came here to help Max, didn’t you? You came here to protect him, right? He’s an awfully intelligent kid so I doubt he’s dead. If anything, he’s probably lost!”

“Maybe,” Bulvik shrugged. “Or maybe he tripped and fell into some lake and drowned. Kids can be very reckless and are likely to find themselves in dangerous situations without _proper_ supervision.”

“Oh! Just _fuck you_ lady!” David finally snapped and cursed at the cruel woman, earning a startled gasp from the children.

“OOOOOOOOOOH!” The campers oo’ed with approval for their counselor's use of profanity. Even Gwen would have applaud him for that if her brain wasn't hazy with anxiety and worry.

“You don’t know anything about Max! He’s an increadbly capable child!” David growled at her. “You know what? You’re going to stay here and wait while we find Max and you’re gonna like it!” David is clearly not used to being an aggressor.

“Max has short legs, he couldn’t have gone far.” Gwen added. “Nurf! You’re in charge of the till we get back! Make sure everyone packs their shit up to go home tomorrow. QM make sure the camp is standing when we come back and that all campers stay within range.”

“Fuck yeah!” Nurf magically brought out a Gwen Wig from behind his back and put it on his head. He directed the campers to go grab their shit. Nikki and Neil frowned but complied, feeling uneasy about leaving Max at the hands of their counselors.

“Fine, if vou think vou’ll find him be my guest but vou’re paying for my uber later.” Bulvik honestly did not give a flying fuck about anything after the day she had. All she wanted do was lay on a couch and take a nap. Which she couldn’t do with QM staring at her all the time.

“You’re coming with me?” David asked Gwen, taking a deep breath to calm his boiling blood. She nodded as she walked past him.

“Yeah, that little shit fueled my anxiety since yesterday! So I got a bone to pick with him.”

David smiled, as he watched her march into the woods. She was acting like a hard ass but he knew that she is just too worried about Max’s wellbeing to stay behind. With the two of them working together, he is sure they’ll find him soon and bring him back safely!

_____

Max frowned. He is tied up with thick vines and hang upside down over a boiling pot of forest stew. Squirrels danced and celebrated around him, adding more twigs to the fire. He could feel the blood rush towards his brain.

“Welp, I’m fucked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading and sorry for the tiny delay! please remember to kudo and leave a comment!
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER= ANGST AND A SAD MAX


	4. I'm so sorry max, you didn't deserve this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're ready cuz you're in for a rollercoaster.
> 
> David and Gwen are looking for Max when they found Fredrick's body. Also, we found out about Max home life and how messed up it really is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really bite off more than I can chew with 4K+ chapters a week (especially as a college student) but I'm still gonna keep trying.

“Max!” Gwen yelled once more, feeling her stomach ache with hunger. She really hadn’t expected to be out in the woods this long.

They left camp in the morning, assuming they’ll be back within the hour. With mini Satan tucked safely under their arms.

But that isn’t the case at all.

They haven't even seen a glimpse of the the boy and, to add fuel to their growing anxiety, the sun is already setting. There is still enough light to see whatever was in front front of them but everything will be pitch black soon.

Gwen messaged her temples in frustration.

Max has his bright blue hoodie on for fucks sakes, he’ll stick out like a sore thumb in the woods! She felt panic tear at her insides and she feared the worst. At this point, even David’s face had frozen into one of concern. Though if you were to talk to him, he’ll give you a well-practiced smile, say he’s _A-okay_ and that everything is under control.

She kept telling herself that Max is an extremely capable kid. He wouldn’t have left without a plan of action.

He’s probably somewhere, laughing his ass off at his clueless counselors as they run around the woods looking for him.

At this point, the only thing keeping her sanity together were her meds, smoothing the tightness in her chest, and David’s optimism (often telling her that everything will be ok). But David reassurance was proving to be a double edge sword because her patience’s was running thin. So much so she forced him up a tree.

“How far are we from camp?” She yelled above her head, slapping a mosquito that tried to purge on her cheek. Little fucker..

“A few miles.” David yelled back. “They lit a campfire. Gosh, I sure hope they leave some last-day-of-camp marshmallows for us!”

They were deep in the woods but the land was relatively flat. He could see the dark clouds and occasionally lightning hovering over the Wood Scouts camp. Across from them, laid Camp Campbell, hidden in the trees but he was able to see their campfire smoke rising towards the evening sky.

“I bet they’re burning something other than the fire pit.” Gwen groaned as her co-counselor climbed down the trunk of a tall pine tree. “David, we’ve been looking for hours. I don’t think Max is in the woods anymore. Maybe he’s already in town?”

She rubbed her prickled arms to warm herself up with the friction. Evenings were getting colder now that fall is around the corner. David tugged at his sleeves and hoped Max was either in a heated building or remembered how to start a campfire without the use of gasoline. He’s sure Max is ok, he pays more attention to camp activities than he lets on. Still, all he wants right now is for Max to be safe and close proximity of him. Even if he would probably be angry at him.

“Town is six miles away.” David pointed out. “If he was able to make the walk there, someone must have seen him by himself and called the camps to report him found. He’s probably just a little lost out here. We just need to keep looking here.”

“We’ve been walking in circles for hours!” Gwen cried. “I seen this fucking log five times now!”

“Ten actually.” He corrected then smiled. “Hey, this reminds me of when I truly fell in love with Camp Campbell!”

“David, no-”

“I’m not going to the bore you with the details, seeing as we clearly don’t have the time,” David sighed woefully with a dreamy expression. “But boy, did that day change me! I went from the worst of the worst to one of the best campers! Even Jasper admitted it!”

“Who’s Jasper?” Gwen asked. She knew he was talking that Order of the Sparrow hike he went on as a kid. She vaguely remembered the details but she was sure that this was the first time hearing about someone named Jasper. David never really talked about people from his past besides Cameron Campbell and QM. Then again, that may be because they’re still in it. Well, QM at least.

“Oh, he was another camper. He was pretty much known as the best and everyone really liked him.” He remembered. “Though, he didn’t stay long. In the middle summer, he left without telling anyone. I still remember his parent’s cool white van.”

“How do you know his parents picked him up?”

“Mr. Campbell told us.” David smiled and acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Gwen frowned. She tended to feel suspicious towards anything Campbell did or said.

They continued looking for Max in the woods. David was yelling out his name and turning over rocks while Gwen looked down, deep in thought as she poked bushes with a stick in case Max was hiding in one.

It occurred to her that Campbell is sitting in Super Guantanamo right because he accidentally admitted to losing a child in front of FBI agents. Losing a kid would have caused a huge scandal. Especially in a small tucked away town like Sleepy Peak.

How did the FBI not know something like that happened before? They seemed to be really into finding any way to bring Cambell under their custody. Then again, she did meet a dreadful social worker today that seems to know him. She was readily prepared to leave after they realized Max was missing. What kind social worker was she?

Considering she seemed to have some history with Campbell, probably a corrupt one.

Of course, she couldn’t prove any of her suspicion. It was all circumstantial. Purely from her active, slightly anxious mind. The FBI might find evidence of something like that occurring tomorrow though. Campbell might have a black book of all his past associates hiding somewhere. Probably in the metal safe in the mess hall or in the attic somewhere with other illegal stuff…

“David, what possessed you to come back and work for Campbell?” Gwen is finding it hard to see how someone as sweet and kind as David idolizing someone as crooked as Campbell.

He was caught off guard by the question. Since to him, it came out of the blue.

“Well, I didn't came for Mr. Campbell. I came back because I’ve always felt at home here.” David grinned. “After my first year in college I didn't feel right. I was stressed all the time and nothing I did seemed to be worth it. So, I came here for nostalgic sake. But after coming back, I knew this is where I wanted to be.”

“So you loved it here so much you jumped the border?” Gwen looked at him quizzically. He laughed.

“I'll admit, it wasn't planned.” He shrugged. “Mr. Campbell was hiring new counselors and asked if I wanted the job. I told him I wasn't a citizen. I was here as a foreign exchange student studying organic chemistry at Sleepy Peak University. He said it was fine and I could stay here year round. So I just didn't go back to canada after my student visa expired. Mr. Campbell promised that as long as I maintained everything, he would provide a roof over my head and pay for basic living expenses. He’s just so generous!”

“Generous…” They were talking about Campbell right?

“Well, he is generous but mostly fair. He does have to take a lot out of my salary for informal healthcare and stuff. I don't get health insurance as an undocumented citizen so he saves that money for me. I get maybe $1.25 per hour but at least I know I'm taken care of if something were to happen!”

Gwen instantly imagined Campbell harvesting David’s organs in a bathtub at some greasy motel. That way he wouldn't have to give the hospital David’s legal status information (they’d probably have him sent to canada and not come back to work for him). Plus, he’ll suddenly have something to sell on the black market. She stared at David who has returned to their search for Max.

Campbell has really taken advantage of David and he doesn’t even realize it! The man had no sense of self preservation.

…He must be protected.

“Hey David-”

“AAAAAHH!!!” David screeched and jump a good foot in the air. Gwen ran towards him and saw….. a dead animal?

At least, a headless one. A wolf with grayish white fur covered in spurs and splinters. It died fairly gruesomely, a rock caved its skull in and out of pure reflex Gwen shielded David’s eyesight from the bloodshed. He moved her hand down to stare.

The scene was littered with tiny feet imprints in the dirt and an obvious drag mark lead to a heavily wooded part of the forest. It was suspiciously darker than the rest of the woods, with prickly vines hanging from the tree branches.

“Didn't Nikki say Max was with one of her animal wolf friends?” David wondered nervously. He was starting to fear the worst.

“Yeah…. I think QM finally killed one.” Gwen blinked at the violence in front of them.

“Gwen! Be serious! QM is clearly back at camp.”

She vaguely noted that he didn't argue about the possibility that QM was capable of murder.

“Well, we don’t know if Max was here or not so let's keep our heads and–,” Gwen frowned. “Bad choice of words.”

Near the remains of a head, she spotted a … calculator? Wait, it's a shitty old one which means it had to have came from Camp Campbell. Turning it over, the screen showed something that resembled a highly pixelated GPS.

“Moving on,” David tears his eyes away from the bloodiness of nature. “I am sure Max is elsewhere and—Hey, is that my bag?”

He noticed his favorite dark green luggage a few feet away. Hidden under fallen tree branches and a layer of dirt.

What would it be doing all they way over here unless…

Gwen snatched it off the ground in a panic and proceeded to rummage through the items. Instant coffee, pudding cups (Gwen later remembered that her favorite blanket was in there too, little fucker) a thermos and...

“Fuck…” She pulled out Mr.HoneyNuts from the bag. David paled at the sight of the old lonely toy. Gwen’s mind raced.

This is not good. Max wouldn't leave his precious bear behind. It was like his security blanket. It's one of the few things the jaded ten year old cared about. If his bear is here, so was Max. Keyword: was.

But there’s no sign of him now. Except those suspicious drag marks in the dirt leading towards the creepy ass part of the woods.

David took the delicate bear from her and held it in his hands. Lips thinned together and his left eye twitched.

It's not like something sinister grabbed Max against his will or anything, right? Ahahaha, Max is tooootally safe in these woods, right? Those horrifying drag marks on the ground leading towards the dark abyss of the forest have nothing to do with Max. Its purely there for decoration, right? There is absolutely no way he could be in mortal danger right now, right? Ahahaha...

Right...?

“I’M COMING FOR YOU MAX!!” David screamed and followed the trail blindly.

“David wait! Think this through!” Gwen ran after him. In retrospect, she should have brought her tranquilizer gun with her this morning.

\---------

“Hey! You little fuckers! You better add oregano or some shit into this cuz if I’m going to die like this, it better be fucking delicious!” Max screamed at the rodents who had long paid no mind to him. Instead they were too busy having a drunken squirrel orgy party instead to celebrate the demise of the human (who in their minds, conspired the assassination of their king). Isn’t nature great?

Incredibly grossed out, Max retired to his mind for sanctuary. He had accepted his extinction by this point. It’s been hours and the blood pooling in his head has made him irritable but compliant.

Max tended to give up when his life started to suckass. Like when he was tangled in the obstacle rope course at the Wood Scouts camp. Or when he thought QM was going to murder him in the woods and wear his skin. He kinda accepted it with open arms and braced himself. Almost like when his parents were mad at him for something. He learned to brace himself at those moments and wait till it passes. Typically afterwards they’re ashamed at themselves and what they did to him but the cycle repeats itself eventually.

He learned long accepted this.

It wasn’t that his parents didn’t want to care, it’s that they couldn’t. They are immigrants who came to the united states for a better life. They attempted the American Dream but they just fell through the cracks.

Racial discrimination, unstable employment, overdue bills. Debts, language barrier, expectations and medical expenses due to malnutrition or environmental violence because they just can’t afford to live anywhere else. It... it just gets to be too much sometimes.

He didn’t know what drugs they took half the time but guessed it was something like heroine or meth. They sometimes mixed it with cheap alcohol or energy drinks and that was a shit show waiting to happen. He didn’t like to stay home when they were on it but he honestly didn’t have anywhere else to go.

He liked to imagine that his parent once loved him like an a typical parent would love their child. He just couldn’t remember when. Maybe when he was too young to even begin to construct a memory?

Probably before they started self medicating.

He knew they regretted their actions. Every single time they apologized, every single time they promised to get better and every single time it happens again, he grew darker.

But they’re his parents. They’re not perfect but they tried. They never been at any of his school open houses or cared what he did outside the house but they made in effort to be home when he got there. Even if they were in the bathroom with a spoon and syringe.

They’d at least hold out on the heavy stuff to be sober enough to say hi to him.

It was Max’s second nature to defend them and their actions, no matter what it did to him. He considered the one and only good thing about himself is that he is loyal. He learned when to avoid them and when to take care of them.

If they fell asleep, he’d turn their heads so don’t drown if they vomited. If they pissed themselves, he’d spill a bit of floor cleaner so it wouldn’t smell so bad. And if they overdosed again, he knew 911.

His parents are citizens so he doesn’t have to worry about them being deported if they were to be hospitalized. He also developed a drill for himself when authorities arrived. He’d tell them he’s the neighbor's kid so they don't call social services on his parents. Afterwards he’ll wait a few days till his parents are home because at the end of the day, they’re all he has.

He won't lie and say he doesn't resent them sometimes. Especially when he feels wronged. He’s angry that he doesn’t have the luxury to be carefree like the rest of the stupid population his age. He’s angry that he has to know all that he knows instead of blissfully ignorant of them. He hates that he has to be the one taking care of people when he should be the one being taken care of.

But he always remind himself that he has cut them some slack because they’re his parents and they’re trying. It’s the drugs that robbed him of their love.

Of course, he’s only a kid. A smart, exposed kid but a kid nonetheless. If he reasoned himself not to be angry at his parents, ok fine but he has to find another reason to be an ass towards everyone else. He can stand to be a dick to everyone but not his parents. They don’t deserve that. No matter what they do, he couldn’t guilt them. He has no right to.

It wasn’t like his parents didn't want to care about him, it’s simply the matter that they can’t. The shit they take prevents them from being their functioning selves not just halting them from being proper parents. How can he fault them for that? They're good people when they aren't under any influence.They need help and what right did he have to feel angry about it when they can’t help it? How can he?

_‘You have every right to angry...’_

Max’s eyes flew open.

_‘But you deserve to be happy.’_

Fucking David. Invading his head. Can’t he just leave him alone!

Max could feel eyeballs swell with angry tears. Not enough to fall but enough to blur his vision and irritate him further.

This was all his fault. He wouldn’t be out here, escaping child services if David hadn’t called them. Why didn’t he just mind his own business?!

_Because he cares._

Fucking hell. He didn’t ask him to! He was doing fine on his own.

…Ok, so he’s dangling upside down over a boiling pot and surrounded by horny rodents who were going kill him at any minute now. Not exactly something you’d would call under control but still!

He never expected to have it all end like this. Man, what he wouldn’t do for a s’mores right now or at least some Cheetos. Hell, he’d even be willing to listen to one of David’s long ass stories for a double chocolate donut.

“Max!!”

“David!?”

He takes it back, HE TAKES IT BACK!!

“David, what the fuck!?” Max did not expect to see the redhead all the way out here. He bursted out the woods like a villain. Entering the small clearing and disturbing the animals below him.

He didn’t even seem to notice the sin at his feet, his attention was directly at Max. The boy was upside, face red and looking absolutely livid, but he was ok!!

“Oh my god…” Gwen poked her head out from behind David and regretted that decision. She did not sign up to see squirrels fuck today. Can’t she ever have normal day?

“Gwen too!?” Max struggled against the vines, a subconscious attempt to get away from them.

“Max! We were so worried!” David came to the edge of the relatively large pot and reached for him. Before he could even touch a curl on his head, a squirrel pounced on his hand and bite him.

“Ah!” David yelped in pain and shook his arm wildly to get it off. The mob of forest rodents did not like being interrupted and they especially didn’t like that David was trying to free Max.

They growled at him, bushy tails pointing upward to seem more intimidating and disease ridden teeth bared. When multiple sprung off the ground and tried to ambush the tall man, Gwen swung the long stick she found earlier. Smacking their bushy faces and sending them flying towards the trees. One was unfortunately impaled by a broken brunch.

“Holy fuck!” Max winced, the squeals of horror flooding his ears.

“Don’t think about it!” Gwen assured him. “Move it David!” She fought them off while David freed Max.

Once his face was away from the pot, Max felt the cool night breeze kiss his burning cheeks. The boy tried to get away from David’s arms but with blood suddenly rushing out of his head, he suddenly felt nauseous.

The Camp Man’s running only made it worse, even if he was trying to get away from murderous squirrels. If he had anything in his stomach, he would have thrown it up by now.

Gwen was thankful for the adrenaline running through her veins. It made it easier to run back into the dark woods without out a second thought. Only the primal instinct of self preservation leading her.

She couldn’t see those devil squirrels anymore. The night sky failed to expand its rays under the trees. But she could still hear their chatter behind her and it was started to sound further away. She thinks they have a good chance of outrunning them.

“Woah!”

“Fuck!”

All of the sudden, David and Max weren’t running in front her anymore.

“Guys-Ah!” The ground disappeared from under her legs and gravity pushed her down a pit. The back of her thighs scraping the earth as she fell.

“Ow… The fu-” David covered her mouth and pointed upward. The chatter and scampering got louder until they were directly above them. They held their breaths, hoping that they wouldn’t be found. Even Max pushed himself further against David's chest. He just didn’t want to be caught and hung upside down again, he reasoned.

They flatten their backs against the sides of the pit, waiting till they couldn’t hear anything but crickets and cicada beetles.

“I think… I think they’re gone.” David sighed in relief, shoulders relaxing before they instantly became rigid again. “Max! Are you hurt anywhere?!”

He patted the little boy in his arms, looking for any injuries or signs of discomfort.

“I’m fiiiiine!” Max angrily flung his arms around, trying to get David’s hand away from him.

“What were you thinking!” Gwen hissed. “Did it not occur to you how dangerous this part of the woods are!? You could have gotten really hurt!"

“Well _who’s fault_ is it that I had to run away in the first place? Huh!” Max glared at her. “You called child services on me!”

“I am _not_ dealing with this right now.” Gwen frowned and stood up.

She is hungry, tired, and just she fought a pack of rabid squirrels for fuck’s sake. And the little shit didn't seem to appreciate that! She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and surveyed the literal shit hole they fell in.

Luckily the pit wasn’t that deep. In fact, it was only a foot taller than she was. She grabbed a root and hoisted herself up. It snapped when she was half way out but she caught herself in time and pulled herself up.

“You’re turn Max!” David smiled.

“Woah woah, hey!” Max was thrown to Gwen like a sack of potatoes. He crawled out her lap as soon as he had his footing and sat a foot away from her, arms crossed in displeasure. Who the hell just throws people anyway?

“Do you need help?” Gwen looked down at David. He smiled up at her.

“No I can get out of here on my own. Can you double check to make sure Max isn’t hurt anywhere?” He waved away off her assistance.

“I’m fine!” Max groaned. Gwen turned away from her co-counselor as he climbed out and grabbed Max’s face. She examined him, ignoring the dirty glare the jaded child sent her as he struggled in her hands.

“Jesus, look at you. You’re covered in scratches.” She frowned. He had a large dirty scrap under his chin and dozens of mini ones on his cheeks and nose. He had a little bit of bruising his left temple and tiny twigs and shit were stuck stubbornly into his hair. She was glad to see him and honestly, after what he’s been through, he could’ve been in worse conditions.

“You sure been through a lot today haven’t you Max.” David chuckled at Max over Gwen’s shoulder. She held the boy’s face under the moonlight to see him better.

“Hold him.” Gwen handed Max’s face to David. Max grunted in annoyance and kept trying to get out of their grasp as Gwen rummaged through stolen bag. He managed slip out of his hands by kicking his knee.

“Ow! Max, violence!” David winced, much to the ten-year-old disinterest.

“You didn’t pack a Second Aid Kit? Not even a First Aid one?” Gwen frowned.

“No, I didn’t have enough time to pack any other shit with a social worker after me!” Max stuck his tongue out at her. Her eye twitched.

“Max, we called her because we care what happens to you after camps ends. We want to make sure you were going to be alright.” David tried to reason with him.

“Bullshit!” Max yelled. “Don’t give me that shit and act like you actually care!”

“And what does that suppose to mean!?” Gwen growled. “Me and David have busted our asses looking for you all day! And we ended up saving yours from those horny fucking squirrels! Wait.. fuck, bad choice of words!”

Today was just not her day.

“Now guys, lets put a smile on our faces and head back to camp! What do you say?” David nervously tried to calm them down.

“That means shit!” Max retorted. “You guys are contractually obligated to give a fuck where I am! That social worker probably called Ered’s dads by now and told them you lost another camper!”

Max crossed his arms and smirked at them.

“Hell, that would mean the end of the line for you guys. David’s probably going to go off somewhere and live the woods afters he’s fired but you Gwen. Fuck, you’d lose the only place willing to hire your ass!”

Gwen gritted her teeth and her eye twitched something awfully.

“Gwen, breath! Find your happy place, find your—”

“LISTEN HEAR YOU LITTLE PUNK ASS SHIT!” Gwen yelled and pushed David’s face out of the way. “We are contractually obligated to do shit now! Our contract were voided when Campbell found his ass in Super Guantanamo! The FBI tried shutting this place down a month ago!”

“Then why didn’t they!?”

“Because no one can say no to David when he begs with those stupid big eyes of his!” Gwen pointed to David, who shrugged and gave Max a guilty smile. “But after today, Camp Campbell is closing. With or without your little disappearing act. Even that crooked social worker had her foot out the door when she found out you left!”

“Gwen!” David pulled at her sleeve to remind her that Max was only a kid. He didn’t need to know that part. The physically tension on her arm snapped her out of her rage little bit. She pinched the the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath to rail her anger in.

“What I’m trying to say is... that we didn’t come out to the scary ass part of the woods cuz we legally had to Max! We did it because we care what happens to you. Even if you are a little shit half the time.” Gwen is bad at this but hopes she got her point across.

Max is silent for a moment. Eyes locked in a scowl aimed at the ground but his lips were quivering a bit. Any animosity she felt melted away at the sight. Max looked like a little small right now. Just like the actual kid Gwen forgets he is. Ok, now she feels kind of guilty for yelling at him.

She turned to David for help but all she got was a sad, disapproving look.

Ok, Ok she knew she screwed up. Thinking on her feet, she moved David’s bag from her back to her arms and pulled out three pudding cups. She gave one to David and held the other two in one hand as she took a step towards Max.

“I’m sorry… That I yelled at you.” Gwen sighed and bent down a little, sweeping Max’s curly hair from his forehead to see him better. “And what I said about the social worker thing.”

Max didn’t say anything but he half-heartedly slapped her hand away. Well, that's a start.

“Could... Could you at least eat something?” Gwen handed him a pudding cup. “You look like an extra from the Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Max half smiled at the reference, not that Gwen could see with the woods being so dark and all. He took the pudding cup from her, still looking at his shoes as it made dents in the ground.

Max opened his pudding and like the barbarian he was, proceeded to drink it like a some sort of thick, slimy smoothie. He was so hungry at this point and that even that forest stew he was was almost boiled in smelled appetizing. He glanced up at the two adults to see David biting back a grin and holding three plastic spoons. He didn't even know that was in the bag. Kinda embarrassed at his poor food etiquette he averted his eyes again but snatched a spoon from the red head's hand. David smiled warmly at this, even though he could hardly make Max's timid expression in the moonlight.

“You know, you’re a lot more tolerable when you’re acting all shy and shit.” Gwen teased.

“Who’s shy!?” Max suddenly snapped in horror; he was greatly offended! Gwen even had the gall to laugh at him! Though she did wordlessly apologized for her insults by giving him her pudding cup. He could forgive just this once, but only because he's that hungry. 

Gwen smiled at him and ruffled his hair, dislodging some twigs and leaves in the process.

They both heard faint sniffling and looked towards David. Who had a endearing grin and looked at them with charmingly hopeful eyes. His hands clamped adoringly together near his head.

“Don’t mind me! I’m just a little overwhelmed by all this friendship.” He fanned his tears away.

“David...” Gwen sighed and patted his shoulder, though she was smiling too.

“So are we getting out of shit hole of a forest or...?” Max wondered, nibbling at his spoon.

\--

After David climbed up the tree, they determine which direction they needed to head towards. They carefully walked in the darkness and kept their eyes peeled for the amber glow of a campfire.

A little bit into their travel back, David noticed how hard it was for Max to keep up with their pace and offered to carry him.

“After the shit I’ve been through today, you better carry me the rest of the way.” Max agreed. The boy is exhausted, he didn’t even pay attention to what Gwen and David were talking about as they walked. He was too busy trying to fight of sleep. He found David to be fairly comfortable and his shoulder made for a great head rest.

The woods didn't feel as intimidating as it did earlier in the day. Sure it was dark but their eyes adjusted and pretty much all the animals that could kill them were asleep so they weren't in immediate danger. Honestly, with the stray firefly lighting up here and there, the occasional cool breeze and the steady tempo of David's steps rocking him up and down continuously, Max felt... Calm. Though Max preferred not to think about how much more comfortable he feels with David and Gwen here than he had with anyone else in a  _long_ time back home.

But things always have to come to an end at some point. The closer they got to camp, the more solidified his anxiety felt in his chest.

What is the social worker going to do with him? Are his parents in trouble because of him? Did they come to get him?

“Hey….” Max grabbed David’s attention, his voice heavy with fatigue. “Are… are my parent at camp right now?”

It was an innocent question. Just a little boy wanting to know if his parents were here. So why did David’s body stiffen all of the sudden.

“Um… well you see… Gwen?” David shot her a pleading look.

“No,” Gwen sighed. “You’re parents aren’t at Camp right now.”

She kept her answer vague. Max realized it wasn’t a good sign.

“Are they in town?” Max frowned, feeling a bit panicked pumping through his viens. Did they shoot up before driving all the way out here? Are they at the hospital!?

“I don’t know.” Gwen was really good at telling half truths. It’s true she didn’t know their whereabouts but she guessed they couldn’t be somewhere so close to the camp.

“Bullshit!”

“Max,” David stroked the tired boy’s head. “Try to get some sleep, everything is ok.”

“Like hell I will!” Max pushed himself away from David. “How can I when there something you guys aren’t telling me!”

Neither Gwen or David were prepared to talk to Max about what his parents did. David especially didn’t want to see Max's face when he found out. So they played ignorance and the two just didn’t say anything as they continued to walk forward. Which, only angered Max.

“...put me down ..PUT ME DOWN!” Max suddenly fought against David’s arms. “PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN! I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH YOU FUCKERS TILL YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PARENTS!”

“Max, please stop struggling you’ve been through alot.” David begged as he struggled to keep him in his embrace but managed. Even when Max was kicking his chest and biting his arm.

“Fucking tell me what you know!” Max bite back a sudden sob but the sound stopping David and Gwen cold in their tracks. “D-Don’t I at least have the fucking right know what’s going on? Don’t throw me into this shit and act like I’m too helpless to understand anything! What happened to them? J-just, augh-”

Max angrily rubbed his face, trying to hide his tears and save face. Despite himself, his greatest fear was losing his parents. And right now, he was afraid that it came true.

“Don't make me beg you fucking sickos, just tell me where they are!” Max hiccuped.

“Gwen…” David looked at her pleadingly but she was also at a loss on what to do. She studied phychology, not child psychology! She sent him a apologetic look and stepped closer to comfort Max. Rubbing circles on his back as an attempt to sooth him somehow.

David didn’t want to tell him but he remembered how it felt being thrown around in the system without any clue what was going on behind the scenes. The only word he could come up with to describe that feeling was… shitty. Being in the dark the whole time felt shitty. And honestly, he didn’t want that for Max. But he didn't want him to suffer the truth either...

“Max... we don’t know where your parents are.” He confessed. “That's why the social worker is here.”

“What?” Max snorted his snot back into his nose and looked at our heart broken Canadian. He never seen Max so helpless.

“The address, in your file.” Gwen sighed. “It doesn't exist so we have no idea where they are right now.”

“That's stupid.” Max muttered. “They wouldn’t have a reason to pull that shit. Not unless they— . . . oh god.”

Max felt like he was going to be sick.

“Max?” David’s voice carried heavy concern for the boy. “Are you oka—”

“You’re lying..” He growled softly.

“Max..”

“YOU FUCKING LIARS! THEY WOULDN’T PULL THAT SHIT!” Max screamed. “JUST CUZ THEY DIDN’T THEY DIDN’T SHOW UP TO PARENTS DAY DOESN’T MEAN THEY WOULD ABANDON ME HERE, YOU FUCKING LIARS!”

“Max—”

“DON’T DELUDE YOURSELVES AND WRITE ME UP LIKE SOME CHARITY CASE YOU’RE HELPING! YOU FUCKING PSYCHOS ARE MAKING THIS UP! I HATE YOU I FUCKING HATE YOU ALL! TRYING TO PULL THIS SHIT I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!” Max had to breathed and the four second silence forced him to look at them. They look so sad… like they’re hurting for him. Even Gwen was there crying her eyes out. But she wasn't crying at his cruel words.

To him, it looked like they’re looking at the most pitiful, broken creature they have ever seen. They’re were looking at him as if he was pitiful. Shame burned his face.

“Don’t … Don’t look at me!” Max screamed and hid his face on David’s shoulder.

They wouldn’t have looked at him like that if they were lying. They’re not that psychotic. Max felt the lump of betrayal tug at his chest painfully.

“The fuck!” Max broke down and cried. “Why the fuck did they do this to me!”

They sight of Max’s shoulders trembling broke both David’s and Gwen’s heart. They encircled him in a hug because it’s the only thing they could do for him right now.

His cries were as violent as he was, despite his small body. His sobs were loud and come out aggressively through David’s shoulder. Snot clogged his nostrils but he didn’t seem to care anymore as he wails without restraint.

“I’m so sorry Max,” David’s voice was low, carrying genuine sentiments as he held him to his chest. “You don’t deserve any of this.”

Gwen frowned. Fuck yeah he didn’t! Max was only ten how could his fucking parents do this to him? Didn’t they care about their son?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking hell, that was loooooooooong! (30 pages/ 6k+) I got a question for all of you. do you prefer long Semi-Bi-Weekly chapters or shorter more frequent ones? Let me know in the comments and also let me know what you guys think so far! THX!

**Author's Note:**

> COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE, KUDOS AND OTHER THINGS OF THAT NATURE!


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